At UFC 308 inside Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena, Whittaker was quickly submitted by Khamzat Chimaev, who locked in a gruesome face crank that displaced the Australian former champion’s front teeth. Despite the nature of that loss, it is a different defeat that has ‘The Reaper’ wishing for a chance at a do-over.

Robert Whittaker returns from one of the most devastating losses of his career when he steps in the Octagon this weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi. 'The Reaper' was once ontop of the world, holding the middleweight championship and defending it against Yoel Romero.

"We would have crossed that bridge when we got there," Robert Whittaker smirked when asked whether he had contingencies in place in case things didn’t exactly go according to plan with Israel Adesanya.

After Whittaker beat Yoel Romero to become interim champion and was later elevated to undisputed king when Georges St-Pierre vacated the throne, ‘The Reaper’ hoped to continue his charge toward greatness. At 185 pounds, the next step was a unification fight against Adesanya. Beyond that, though, the Australian had eyes on another piece of UFC gold.